Male head study 1930 - 1935

This is a painting of a man's head made by Ľudovít Čordák. Look at the brushstrokes, they are alive! It's like Čordák is trying to figure out who this guy is as he paints. He's feeling his way through the shadows on the face, trying to capture something real. The colours are muted, mostly browns and greys, but there are these flashes of red in the cheeks, like a blush, or maybe he's just been out in the cold. The paint looks pretty thin, not too gloopy, which gives it a kind of immediacy. I wonder if Čordák was thinking about Rembrandt when he made this. You know, that searching quality, the way the paint seems to be searching for the light. It's like he's saying, "I don't know who this guy is, but I'm going to find him in the paint". We stand on the shoulders of giants. Each artist learns from those who came before, and then adds their own little bit to the conversation.